Tuesday, 19 August 2014

Top Ten Tuesday: Books People Have Been Telling The Mermaid That She MUST Read


Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish.

Each week, a new Top Ten list will be posted at The Broke and the Bookish. Everyone is welcome to join. Just remember to link back to The Broke and the Bookish and add your name to the Linky widget so that everyone can check out other bloggers' lists! Click here to view the full list of Top Ten Tuesdays.

This is my first time participating in Top Ten Tuesday! I've finally found some free time to do it. School is just insane right now but the holidays are in about two weeks (aka more reading time!).

So here we go – ten books people have been telling me that I MUST read!

Most of these books are ones I keep hearing about but have never read. There are probably a ton of books that fall under this category for me, because #1, I used to have this mindset of not reading what I thought was ‘mainstream’, and #2, I just simply didn’t have the time. 


1. Under The Never Sky by Veronica Rossi: Manon from Sous Ma Couverture recommended this! Movie rights have been sold, but there isn't much news regarding that as of now.

2. The Fault In Our Stars by John Green: Seems like EVERYONE has read this. But yes, I haven't read TFIOS. And no, I have not seen the movie. I probably wouldn’t have shifted it up my TBR list if the movie hadn’t been released.

3. The Maze Runner by James Dashner: Like TFIOS, the same goes for The Maze Runner. My classmates have been telling me to read it and are eagerly anticipating its movie release in September, so this time I will read it before then (like I did for The Hunger Games trilogy).

4. Promises (Syrenka, #1) by Amber Garr: Michelle from The Passionate Bookworms recommended this series to me, especially since I’m a mer-freak. I’ve heard it’s fin-tastic.

5. The Bellwether Revivals by Benjamin Wood: I was exchanging book recs with a classmate in a bookstore after being properly introduced to him for the first time (and finding out he's a fan of The Lunar Chronicles!). I recommended What Kills Me by Wynne Channing to him. In return, he located a copy of The Bellwether Revivals in the store and showed it to me.


6. Scarlet (The Lunar Chronicles, #2) by Marissa Meyer: Said classmate and fan of The Lunar Chronicles asked me why I hadn't read Scarlet yet even though I'd finished Cinder already.

I’m a reader who prefers to wait till a series is finished because I can’t stand the agonising wait for sequels. The more popular an unfinished series is, the less likely I am to start reading it anytime soon.

Fun fact: During the pre-release hype of the third book, Cress, one of my pins on Pinterest showcasing fan art (not mine) had an insane amount of repins. The number now stands close to 500!


7. The Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare: I was pretty confused over whether one should start reading The Infernal Devices (the prequel series) or The Mortal Instruments first. A classmate of mine who’s an avid fan of this series recommended starting with the latter, so at least I'll know where to start!

8. Wonder by R. J. Palacio: What a lovely sky blue cover. A friend reading it recommended it after I asked about the illustration.

9. The Chrysalids and 10. The Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham: Another classmate of mine who particularly loves dystopian/post-apocalyptic novels suggested these to me. Aside from their interesting premises, these were written in the 1950s. I was told that John Wyndham’s sci-fi novels weren’t that popular in those days, but with the resurgence of books in the similar genre, I think they'll be better-appreciated in this century.


Thanks for checking out my Top Ten Tuesday post! Leave a comment with a link to your post so I can swim over ;)









Sunday, 10 August 2014

In My Mailbox #7: Holy carp, it's signed copies of the MERMINIA series!

 photo IMM iphoneFINAL_zpse6jelmrr.png
Welcome to In My Mailbox (IMM)IMM is a weekly meme created by Kristi @ The Story Siren which features books bought/received in the mail, borrowed from the library as well as other awesome book-related goodies in your mailbox.

I. 

Am. 

Goingtoburstwithexcitement.

Actually, I already have. *uncontrollable sheepish giggle*

If you don't know already, I'm CRAZY. Sea-riously.
As you know, I absolutely adore Merminia, the first book in Emm Cole's amazing series about mermaid clans and wars. And swoon-worthy mermen. *coughARAMIScough* 
Review of said fintabulous novel can be found here if you wish to acquaint yourself with awesomeness.

So imagine my immense delight when Emm sent me both of her books in the series.



#BRBdying
Before anything else:
  1. I wasn't expecting this at all! I gave Merminia the love I would give to any book that's earned a special spot in my heart, which includes spreading some serious bookish love. This is something I totally didn't see coming, and a surprise like no other!
  2. As an international book blogger, I don't get many bookish goodies in my letterbox. Us international peeps don't live near major US publishers to receive physical ARCs for review, nor do we have many local YA book events to attend (well, for me, at least). Our eyes light up every time we see an international giveaway, because let's face it – shipping prices can be a pain in the mer-ass for those hosting such giveaways. And we understand that. Of course, there's always the lovely Book Depository to help out but generally, what I'm saying is that it's just different if you're an international blogger. That's why I'm always so flippin' excited about anything that literally lands in my mailbox.
But. This post isn't to gripe or complain! I'm trying to illustrate my sheer joy for having received a series I love from a talented author (:

Okay. Photo time!

I'm so stoked about getting to review Keeping Merminia in paperback. And it's thicker than Merminia too, so that means I get to see more of the characters! ^~^

Autographs!

Isn't that just sweet?! I feel so blessed and honoured to know about the world of Merminia through your writing, Emm! Thank you so much for sending some major author love all the way to Singapore! I truly appreciate it <3 


Don't know who the gorgeous Emm Cole is? Well, time to rectify that! You can find her at these links: 

And while you're at it, do grab a copy of Merminia for yourself! Trust me, it's the best thing since sushi ;)


                                                       Merkisses,